Back to Sleep Campaign Marks Tenth Anniversary
With Renewed Effort To Cut SIDS Rates in African American CommunityAnnouncements, Bus Ads Planned for October SIDS Awareness Month

The Back to Sleep campaign marks its tenth anniversary this
October with renewed efforts to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant
Death Syndrome (SIDS) in the African American community by reminding
parents and caregivers to always place infants on their backs to
sleep. The Back to Sleep campaign is sponsored by the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National
Institutes of Health.

Since the campaign began 10 years ago, the SIDS rate for African
Americans has declined dramatically, as it has for the total population.
Still, the SIDS rate for African Americans is twice that of whites.

During October, which is also SIDS Awareness Month, the Back to
Sleep campaign will run public service announcements on radio stations
around the country and display ads on buses in the Washington, D.C.,
area to remind African American parents, grandparents, and caregivers
about reducing the risk of SIDS.

Despite the dramatic decline in SIDS over the last decade, SIDS
still claims the lives of roughly 2,500 infants each year. SIDS
is the sudden, unexplained death of an infant in the first year
of life. The causes of SIDS are still unclear and it is not yet
possible to predict which infants might die of SIDS. However, it
is possible to reduce factors known to increase SIDS risk:

Make sure everyone who cares for a baby knows that infants
should be placed to sleep on their backs and knows the other ways
to reduce SIDS risk

NICHD's Back to Sleep campaign recommends that, unless
there's a medical reason not to, infants should be placed on
their backs to sleep, on a firm mattress with no blankets or fluffy
bedding under or over them. If a blanket is used, it should be placed
no higher than a baby's chest and be tucked in under the crib
mattress. The baby's sleep area should be free of pillows and
stuffed toys, and the temperature in the baby's room should
be kept at a level that feels comfortable for an adult.

"We've made great progress over the last decade in
cutting the SIDS rate for African American infants by almost 50
percent, but we need to reinforce our efforts," said Duane
Alexander, M.D., Director of the NICHD.

The recommendation to place infants to sleep on their backs resulted
from years of careful research sparked by the observation that infants
in other countries who were placed to sleep on their backs were
less likely to die of SIDS. Research on European infants, funded
by the NICHD, provided further evidence that placing infants to
sleep on their backs reduced their risk of SIDS. Finally, a large
study that took place in Chicago confirmed that the practice of
placing infants to sleep on their backs helped reduce SIDS risk.
The studies were needed to confirm that placing infants to sleep
on their backs did not increase the risk for any other health problems.
At the time the studies were undertaken, many health care providers
feared that infants placed to sleep on their backs might choke on
vomit if they happened to spit up during the night.

The research resulted in a 1992 recommendation from the American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that infants not be placed on their
stomachs to sleep. Based on information from additional studies,
the AAP later revised its recommendation to say that, unless there
was a medical reason not to, that all infants be placed to sleep
on their backs.

Over the last decade, research supported by the NICHD has yielded
other findings on the benefits of back sleeping for infants and
additional information on risk factors for SIDS. These findings
include:

Infants who sleep on their backs have fewer fevers and ear infections

Infants who share a bed with other children or who sleep on
soft bedding are at a higher risk of SIDS than are other infants

Infants accustomed to sleeping on their backs who are then placed
to sleep on their stomachs or sides are at an increased risk for
SIDS  greater than the increased SIDS risk of infants always
placed on their stomachs or sides

In 1994, the NICHD formed a coalition of national organizations
to launch the Back to Sleep campaign. Since the start of the NICHD-led
campaign that year, the SIDS rates for both groups have declined
by about 50 percent, but a significant disparity still remains.

Last year, the NICHD joined forces with three national African
American women's organizations in a program to reduce the risk of
SIDS among African American infants. The leadership and members
of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc.; the Women in
the NAACP; and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. held three summits
with the NICHD to learn how to conduct SIDS risk reduction training
and outreach activities in communities around the country.

"The summits were a springboard for sharing vital information
with a network of community leaders who will help us end a historical
trend that unnecessarily has African American infants at higher
risk of SIDS," said Yvonne T. Maddox, Ph.D., Deputy Director
of the NICHD, who forged the collaboration with the three African
American organizations.

The NICHD is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH),
the biomedical research arm of the federal government. NIH is an
agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The
NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth;
maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population
issues; and medical rehabilitation. NICHD publications, as well
as information about the Institute, are available from the NICHD
Web site, http://www.nichd.nih.gov,
or from the NICHD Information Resource Center, 1-800-370-2943; e-mail
NICHDInformationResourceCenter@mail.nih.gov.